A majority of Americans reacted negatively to recent religion-related statements by President Donald Trump and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, according to a Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll, with criticism extending to many Republicans and Trump voters.

The poll found 87% of Americans viewed negatively a social media post by Trump appearing to depict himself as Jesus, while 69% reacted negatively to Hegseth praying at the Pentagon for “overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy.”

The backlash crossed party lines. Eighty per cent of Trump’s 2024 voters and 79% of Republicans said they viewed Trump’s Jesus-themed post negatively. More than 40% of both groups also reacted negatively to Hegseth’s prayer.

“There is only one Jesus,” Kimberly Chopin, a 57-year-old Catholic and Trump voter from Louisiana, told pollsters. “I found the posts to be inappropriate and offensive.”

Trump later deleted the AI-generated image after criticism, including accusations of blasphemy from some religious conservatives. Trump, who has long positioned himself as a champion of religious Americans, has drawn strong support from White Christians.

The poll, however, suggested weakening support among some religious groups amid criticism from Pope Leo XIV and other faith leaders over Trump administration policies, including immigration and the war in Iran.

Among White evangelical Protestants, roughly 9 in 10 respondents viewed the image negatively, though about 7 in 10 still approved of Trump’s overall job performance. That marked a 10-point decline from February 2025.

Trump said publicly he was responsible for posting the image and described it as portraying him similarly to a doctor or Red Cross worker.

His approval among White Catholic voters fell to 49% from 63% in February, while approval among Catholics overall declined to 38%, down 10 points. Trump’s overall approval rating dropped to 37% from 45% in February.

The poll also found Americans viewed Pope Leo XIV more favourably. Two-thirds reacted positively to Leo’s call for Americans to contact Congress to work for peace and reject war, while nearly 6 in 10 reacted negatively to Trump’s false claim that the pope had said, “it’s OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon.”

Among Americans familiar with Leo, 41% viewed him favourably and 16% unfavourably.

The poll also examined reactions to another Trump social media post during negotiations with Iran in which he wrote that “a whole civilisation will die tonight, never to be brought back again.” Seventy-six per cent reacted negatively, including 53% who said they reacted “strongly” negatively.

The Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll was conducted online from April 24-28 among 2,560 US adults nationwide. The margin of error was plus or minus 2 percentage points.